The Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity and the Maudsley Charity have provided funding for The Reader Organisation to bring our pioneering shared reading project to Southwark and Lambeth, improving wellbeing, building communities and extending reading pleasure for people of all ages, backgrounds and life situations.

We run shared over 350 weekly shared reading groups in care homes, schools, prisons, hospitals, libraries and community centres across the UK. Already working closely with South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and local library services, we are expanding our activity in this area to include organisations who work with older people and those who work with young people.

Shared Reading with Older People

“I’ve got something to look forward to now, for the first time in years.”Shared reading group member, Jewish Care, London

For older people and those living with dementia, shared reading groups improve quality of life through cognitive stimulation, social interaction and meaningful engagement each week. Evaluation of our existing groups demonstrates the positive impact:

87% of readers reported greater concentration

86% of readers were less agitated

Shared Reading with Young People

“I wish I could do this every day!”Jake, 11

Our work with young people focuses entirely on reading for pleasure, one of the most important factors determining a child’s social mobility and future life chances. We make reading enjoyable and build self-esteem, which in turn improves literacy and attainment levels. In a recent evaluation of our projects with young people:

89% of felt more confident discussing their ideas and opinions

93% enjoyed school more on the days they had shared reading sessions

Find out more

Find out more about how you and your organisation could work with The Reader Organisation in Southwark and Lambeth at our free showcase events at Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre on Tuesday 26th November: